Respectez-nous as We Feminize the Rapped Rhyme
Similar to hip-hop cultural presentations in the United States , rap music has been no less limiting and misogynistic towards women . What is known in France as le rap français is also traditionally dominated by men and geared towards male consumers and females are by and large marginalized by record companies . Strausz and Dole ( 12 ) argue that women who are present in French rap have been more “ tolerated than accepted ,” and in order to gain respect , female artists have been forced to struggle against hardened patriarchal attitudes that have been pervasive in the industry . However , when given support , a handful of women rappers have been major money makers in the genre , whilst earning massive fame and esteem amongst hip-hop ’ s consumers . This sort of popularity suggests that the opinions of the purchasing public in France do not reflect the assumed male-dominated aesthetic of the larger market as seen , forwarded , funded , and promoted by record labels .
EARNING RESPECT VIA RESISTANCE
Despite the many limitations that they face , women in French hip-hop have a long history with the music , dating to the very beginning . Even though there is a lack of equilibrium in rap music in France in terms of gender , the first ever hip-hop song to be issued on vinyl in was the song “ Une sale histoire ” by the female artist Beside , which appeared on the B-side of New York rapper Fab Five Freddy ’ s 1982 hit , “ Change the Beat .” However , following this initial groundbreaking contribution to rap music in France , women largely disappeared from the scene and remained non-visible players until the late 1980s . The first female hip-hop artist to receive album recognition after Beside was Saliha , a rappeuse ( a female rapper ) who entered rhyming competitions across France . Throughout the late 1980s , Saliha recorded singles that appeared on the
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